Dmitry Alexandrovich (; 1250–1294) was
Grand Prince of Vladimir
The Prince of Vladimir, from 1186 Grand Prince of Vladimir (), also translated as Grand Duke of Vladimir, was the title of the monarch of Vladimir-Suzdal. The title was passed to the prince of Moscow in 1389.
Overview
The monarch of Vladimir-Su ...
from 1276 to 1281, and again from 1283 until 1293.
Biography
Dmitry was the second son of
Alexander Nevsky. When his elder brother Vasily died young, Dmitry remained the chief heir to his illustrious father. As early as 1259, he was left by Alexander in charge of
Novgorod
Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...
. Upon Alexander's death in 1264, however, the Novgorodians expelled Dmitry to his native
Pereslavl-Zalessky, citing his youth as a pretext.
Four years later, when Dmitry had turned 18, he was welcomed back to Novgorod and — together with his future son-in-law,
Daumantas of Pskov — led a local militia against
Livonian Knights in the
Battle of Rakvere. During the following decade, he struggled for control of Novgorod against his uncles,
Yaroslav III and
Vasily of Kostroma. In 1276, when his elders died, he finally ascended the coveted thrones of
Vladimir and
Novgorod
Veliky Novgorod ( ; , ; ), also known simply as Novgorod (), is the largest city and administrative centre of Novgorod Oblast, Russia. It is one of the oldest cities in Russia, being first mentioned in the 9th century. The city lies along the V ...
. Two years later, he founded a great fortress of
Koporye, which he intended to rule himself. The Novgorodians revolted, forcing Dmitry to leave Koporye and Novgorod altogether.
While Dmitry was preoccupied with pacifying Novgorod,
Andrey of Gorodets (Dmitry's younger brother) went to the
Golden Horde and received from the khan permission to replace Dmitry as the Grand Prince. In 1281, Andrey returned to Russia, joined his forces with princes of
Rostov and
Yaroslavl and, after much devastation to Dmitry's lands, seized his capital Pereslavl. Dmitry fled to
Koporye but, failing to win support of Novgorodians, had to retreat further northward, probably to
Scandinavia
Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...
.
Two years later, Dmitry returned to Russia, only to find his lands ravaged by the
Mongols
Mongols are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, China ( Inner Mongolia and other 11 autonomous territories), as well as the republics of Buryatia and Kalmykia in Russia. The Mongols are the principal member of the large family o ...
and his brother Andrey. Thereupon he went to the
Black Sea
The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...
and met
Nogai Khan, who was the greatest enemy of the
Golden Horde at that time. Wishing to increase his authority in Russia, Nogai vowed to support Dmitry in his struggle for the grand ducal throne. On hearing about this, Andrey renounced his claims to Vladimir and Novgorod and returned to
Gorodets.
In 1285 Andrey again brought Mongol hordes to Russia, but these were expelled by Dmitry and his allies. Finally, in 1293 Andrey managed to unite the Mongols and Rus' princes in opposition to Dmitry. Reluctant to renew fratricidal hostilities, Dmitry took monastic vows in 1293 and died the next year. He was buried in the Saviour Cathedral of Pereslavl-Zalessky.
Genetics
In 2023, paleogeneticists (Zhur et al.) identified him as having the same Y-chromosomal line as most modern representatives of the
Rurikid family. The results of the study were published in the journal ''Acta Naturae''. Scientists identified his mitochondrial haplogroup
F1b1-a3a2a, which belongs to the East Eurasian cluster, and the Y-chromosomal haplogroup
N1a1a1a1a1a1a7a (N1a1-L550>Y4339>VL11).
See also
*
Family tree of Russian monarchs
References
Bibliography
*
External links
Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pereslavl, Dmitry Of
1250 births
1294 deaths
Grand princes of Vladimir
Eastern Orthodox monarchs
Yurievichi family